A New Beginning
by litakino22
Summary: The scouts take a trip once things have quieted down, but is it the silence before the storm? Your fav old characters and later some new ones. My 1st fic, please read!
1. The Dilemma

The sun broke free from the dark storm clouds as they moved slowly away from where they had rested over Tokyo, Japan.  
Serena let out a huge yawn. "Serena, you haven't even started your homework yet. At this rate, you'll never get it done," Amy said, interrupting Serena's daydream of boys, the usual.  
"Yeah lazy, you will never pass your classes!" Raye taunted as she drew cartoons in her math notebook.  
"Well you're not exactly workin' your brain hard, are you?!" Serena replied smartly.  
Raye shut her notebook quickly. "I don't know what you're talking about," She lied.  
"Oh please, you're not working any harder than I am!."  
"I guess I don't blame them for wanting to relax," Amy said to Mina and Lita, trying to ignore the others' bickering. "It's been so long since we've had to fight off monsters of some kind, trying to take over the world."  
"Yeah, it's nice to finally live our lives.normally," Mina added.  
"But don't you find the silence kinda' scary?" Lita asked.  
"..Well you don't take any notes in Mr. Wokata's class! I see you. You don't look at a thing he writes on the board! You just stare at the exchange student from Peru all day!" Serena fumed.  
"Oh, don't give me that!" Raye retorted. "You don't even stay AWAKE in his class! It's not hard to tell with your lungs! Your snoring could wake the dead! Just because the teacher is old and can't hear, doesn't mean that I haven't."  
Amy, Mina, and Lita turned back to their own conversation, all shaking their heads.  
"Anyway, what do you mean by that?" Mina started.  
"I mean, don't you get worried that Negaverse monsters might be planning something? You know, taking their time to regain power or something," Lita explained.  
"Now that you mention it, it is kinda' creepy," Mina shivered.  
"It would make sense, but there's nothing we can do about it anyway. We'll just have to wait for them to come and make the first move." Amy reassured them.  
"I hope they don't," Mina said. "I like this, living like regular girls. Besides, Lita and I have had time to find awesome boyfriends now!" Mina and Lita gave Amy big smiles of satisfaction, causing her to blush.  
"But there's no way of just giving up our duties as scouts," Amy tried to get the topic off boyfriends.  
"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Lita said. She and Mina exchanged sly looks.  
"We can ask Luna about it," Mina explained to a puzzled Amy.  
".. Well atleast I get "B"s. You probably get straight "Z"s!" Raye yelled.  
"I'll have you know tha-"  
"WILL YOU BOTH JUST SHUT UP!!!!" Amy screamed over them. "We're trying to have an important discussion over here!" All wide eyes were on Amy....  
"S-so, it's decided, we'll go see Luna," Mina tried to break the awkward silence.  
"OK," Lita said, still not taking her eyes off an outraged Amy.  
Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina rose from the table, but Serena (who had no idea what was going on) asked, "Wait a minute! What do we need to ask Luna about?"  
"C'mon!" 


	2. The Search For Luna

I hope u liked the first chapter I'm really mad right now (it's a long story) so I'm going to write a whole bunch today. Please write reviews of my story, so I can know what you think of it! Chapter 2: The Search For Luna!  
  
As the girls hurried to Serena's house to find Luna, they explained to Raye and Serena their plan to ask Luna how they could possibly drop their scout duties. Just for a while of course, because Amy wouldn't have it any other way.  
"What a great idea! Then I can study more and become a top student!" Serena said.  
"If what you mean by that is you can read more of my comics during study buddies and become a couch potato, then I'd say that's about right." Raye teased.  
Serena stuck her tongue out at Raye, who stepped on her foot. Serena bit her tongue hard. "Waaaah!! Why do you have to been so mean to me all the time! All I was trying to do is."  
The others paid no attention to her and kept right on walking.  
"Oh hey, Rini!" Lita called ahead.  
"Hi guys," Rini said.  
"Rini, have you seen Luna? We need to talk to her," Raye said with a smile.  
"She went with Artemis on a walk in the park. I can take you there if you want."  
They all nodded to her in agreement (except Serena who probably was too busy talking about how she couldn't be a good student if her tongue didn't work, to even notice that Rini was there.)  
Rini soon led them to the best park in the city. It was no wonder why the two cats wanted to go on a walk here! The rain had brought out the true beauty of the park. There were hundreds of bright pink flowers on each cherry blossom tree, and there were hundreds of trees in the park.  
There were a lot of people at the park; laughing, having picnics, and just enjoying the beauty of the blossoms. "Great! How are we supposed to find two small cats in this giant park full of people!?" Serena asked the question that was on everyone's mind.  
"She said something about taking a walk on the trail through the woods," Rini recalled.  
"Ooooh! How romantic. You know, that's the best place in the park to-"  
"Serena!! Not in front of Rini!" Amy stopped her quickly. Everyone laughed except Serena, and they continued walking.  
They trudged on through the forest; dodging small, rogue animals and puddles. They kept their eyes open for Artemis because his white fur would be really easy to see I this dark forest.  
After a while Raye said, "We should just go home. It looks like the sun is about to set, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be in the woods at night."  
"Why don't you guys sleep over at my house? Luna's bound to come home some time." Serena suggested.  
They all agreed and hurried toward the opening at the end of the trail. "Or, we could just talk to her here," Serena said as she spotted the cats up ahead.  
"Hey Luna!" Serena called. They all ran to catch up to the guardians. "Listen we have to talk to you about-" Serena looked around at all the people at the park, "something." She finished.  
"Well, we obviously can't talk about it here if it's the 'something' that I think it is," Luna said.  
"They're sleeping over, so we talk about it later. So, did you have a nice 'walk'?" Serena smirked.  
"Can we wrap this up, please?" Artemis interrupted. "It looks like it's going to rain again."  
The girls glanced up at the sky as a huge thunderclap erupted above them. Serena jumped and they all ran straight for her house, followed closely by the downpour.  
  
Well that's the end of ch. 2. I hope you liked this one just as much. Please review! 


	3. A Cat's Scepter

I hope you liked the story so far. Please review it!! OK here we go..  
  
Chapter 3: Luna's Scepter  
  
Serena's door slammed loudly as the group ran in. Eager to hear what Luna would have to say, they seated themselves around Serena's room.  
Lita, Raye, and Rini sat on the edge of the bed. Amy took a seat at Serena's desk (which was probably not used for homework like you would think.) Mina and Serena just sat on the floor in front of Luna.  
"So, what is it that you all would like to ask me?"  
"Well, we wanted to know if we could put our scout duties on hold for a while," Mina said.  
"Haven't you been doing that for the past few months? There hasn't been anything going on for you to worry about. Well besides normal things like homework and-"  
"No, we mean, when monsters or whatever do attack. Isn't there a way that we wouldn't have to do anything?" Raye interrupted impatiently.  
"Hmmm. Let me see. Well, I suppose you could always get covered by your reincarnations."  
"Reincoo-whats?!" Serena questioned.  
"Oh! You mean like replacement scouts?" Amy said.  
"Exactly," said Luna.  
"How the heck are we going to find our doubles!? They could be anywhere on this planet!" Lita yelled.  
"Ah, that's where my scepter comes in." The girls looked around at each other, confused. They had no idea what she meant by this.  
Luna reached a black paw into the air and cried, "Luna Scepter!" There was a sudden flash of silver light, and a black and gold, cat-sized scepter appeared in mid-air. It floated swiftly down to the floor. Serena picked it up. It was no bigger than the old transformation pens. It reminded Serena of back when she had the Crescent Moon Wand, because it had a small gold crescent moon on it. On the very center of the moon was a crystal.  
Luna pressed on the crystal with her right paw. The half moon turned into a full moon and opened in the middle to reveal a sort of blank computer screen. She looked up at the scouts and smiled.  
"Way cool! I didn't know you had a scepter, Luna! So, what does it do?" Serena said excitedly.  
"Well, it's sort of like a tracking device. It's how I found out that you were in Tokyo, Japan in the first place and not in some other country." Luna explained. "Artemis has one too, that's how he found Mina. He decided to stay with her instead of looking for the rest of you with me. He said that we would meet up in the end."  
"And we did," Artemis said from Mina's lap.  
"So this will find their reincarnations?" Rini asked.  
"Yes. It's been a long time since we've used them, but I'm sure it can't be too hard," Luna said as she started tinkering with her scepter on the floor. Artemis called out for his scepter, and soon they were both on the floor trying to figure out which button did what. Artemis' scepter looked the same as Luna's only his was white and gold (go figure.)  
It didn't take too long for them to figure out how to bring up a world map on the screen, and that the jewel can be used as a sort of joystick to move the position of the map.  
Different colored dots were all over the map, but four of them were in America. In fact, all four were in New York City! "Each color represents the sailor reincarnation," Luna explained.  
"Why are there only four then?" Serena asked.  
"Rini is considered your reincarnation because she is after all your daughter," Artemis answered.  
"So what you're saying is that if we want to get time off, we have to go to the U.S. to find our reincarnations," Raye said.  
Luna and Artemis nodded.  
"Yes!" They all screamed. Just as that happened, Serena's mom knocked on the door, and told them to keep it down or to go to bed.  
"Oh man! I just remembered, how are we going to get our parents permission for this?" Serena said disappointed.  
"Yeah, I might have problems. My parents are totally overprotective," Lita joked.  
"Serena's the only one who would really have a problem, but if we tell her mom that we're all going. She'll have to let you go. Besides, Spring Break is coming up," Raye said.  
"That sounds like a good idea to me. Now all we have to do is come up with the money to buy the tickets," Amy said, taking out her sleeping bag.  
"I have some money saved up from my parents, that I was saving for a vacation anyway," Lita said as she grabbed a pillow off Serena's bed.  
Rini had already fallen asleep on Serena's bed. Raye reached out to pick her up. "Leave her," Serena said, pulling back her sheets.  
"This is gonna' be great," Mina said as she flicked the light switch. 


	4. Are We There Yet?

Sorry it took so long to post this one! I've been really busy lately. If you're reading this, please review, I need to know what you think! Chapter 4: Are we there yet?! It wasn't too hard to get ready to go. They were so excited, that they had packed for the trip by the first day. Now all they had to do was get the money to pay for the plane tickets.  
They decided to put Amy in charge of the money once they earned it, because Serena also volunteered, and well, you get my point. Lita had already saved money for the trip, but she still helped Mina recycle bottles and cans. It didn't get a lot of money, but it helped all the same. Raye and Serena started mowing lawns. This is where most of the money came from, so everyone helped with this too.  
At the end of each day, spring break came closer, and they came closer to the amount they needed. Every night at study buddies, they would count the day's earnings. Then, two days before break started, Amy said that they finally had enough. This meant for the plane tickets, but they still needed money for food, and of course Mina couldn't pass up shopping for crazy American styles.  
When the day of departure finally came, everyone was so excited. They had slept over at Serena's again, so no one would be late. Amy went over her checklist of luggage in the living room for the 3rd time. Mina was hogging the bathroom to get her hair brushed and nails done and all. Raye rummaged in her trunk for her plane ticket. Serena glanced at her reflection in the mirror, while Rini tugged at the hem of her skirt. "Serena, are you sure you have everything?"  
"Who are you, my mother?!" Serena snapped.  
Everyone met in the kitchen, where Lita was packing her famous triple- decker roast beef sandwiches into little bags. Serena stayed behind when her mom tapped her on the shoulder.  
"Are you positive you have everything?" Her mom asked.  
"Jeez! I'll be fine. It's not like I'm irresponsible," Serena replied.  
"Well, you'll be far away, I just don't want to get a call from you, 12 hours from now, saying that you forgot to bring clothes!" She joked. "Anyway, just remember to be serious about this. You've never been to America, so I do want you to take good care of Rini too," Serena's mom slipped her a fifty, "and have fun. Remember, this is your spring break."  
Serena told her thanks for the cash, which would definitely come in handy. She gave her mom a hug, and joined the others in the kitchen. "Let's get this party started!"  
:::  
They had to take a bus to get to the airport, but they wanted to get their early, so they would all get window seats, if they wanted. Lita wasn't thrilled about riding in a plane from the very beginning, but she agreed as long as she didn't get a window seat. This surprised everyone, because Lita is usually not scared of much, but she reminded them that her parents had died in a plane crash.  
The attendant at the front desk directed them to their airplane. Not many people were there because it was such an early flight, but it was going to take them a long time to get to America. Luna and Artemis had to be packed below deck. They weren't too crazy about this, and found it degrading. But they knew that they had no other choice.  
When they finally boarded the plane, they found that there were only 2 other families with them. Serena and Rini took the left front seat, with Serena at the window. Mina and Lita were in the seat horizontal from them. Mina was already checking out spring fashions in an American magazine. Raye and Amy sat behind Lita and Mina.  
The trip was a fairly uneventful one. It was long and boring. The silence was often broken by Serena's loud snores, Raye and Lita's conversation on which they thought was bigger: Tokyo or New York, Amy typing in searches on the answer, and Mina asking Amy to translate certain English that she just couldn't figure out.  
::::::::Many Hours Later::::::::  
By this time, everyone was asleep. It had been such a long plane ride, that no one could stay awake for very long. A clerk came in the isle and woke them all up by saying that the plane would land soon. They packed up all the things they had been using during the flight, but got too distracted by the huge cityscape coming into view below. "That's New York," Amy said as she brought up a map of the city on her computer.  
"What's that down there?" Raye asked.  
"Oh, that's where the world trade center used to be," Amy said. They passed over it and flew on towards the airport. "Finally," Mina sighed. The plane began to taxi on the runway. They felt their stomachs lurch as they airplane came to a stop.  
Serena rushed to get out first. She wanted to see the place where she would be staying. Everyone was eager to see the city, so they wasted no time getting their luggage, finding a bus, and getting to their hotel. It was an expensive looking place, with a great big red carpet. "I feel like a movie star or something!" Mina said.  
Amy checked them in at the lobby, while the others marveled at the comfy couches and free food awaiting them farther down the hall. "Tell me again how we could afford all this?" Raye asked.  
"Don't worry about it, I found this website that gives you plane tickets cheap, so we had enough left over to go to a more luxurious hotel."  
"What would we do without you Amy?" Lita said as she grabbed one of the keys from her hand. 


	5. First Stop: Shop!

Hey, I finally updated! I'm so proud of myself! *People back slowly out  
of room.* Yeah- so I guess I'll just start then......  
  
After a night of wonderful sleep in their luxurious hotel, it was time to  
hit the town. (Strictly for business of course.)  
"Would this shirt go good with those new shoes I bought last week?"  
"Hmmm.... Well, how about this. I think the shoes were more of a maroon  
color than red."  
"Ooh, I like!"  
Ok so I lied, but how could they help it.  
"Oh, hey Mina, it's almost time to meet Serena and Lita back at the food  
court."  
"Please, knowing Serena, they'll be running late too!" Mina excused  
herself to the dressing room quickly before Raye could protest. Raye  
sighed. 'Amy's going to kill us; we were supposed to be trying to get to  
know the place, so we can find our reincar-whatevers easier. She never  
said that we couldn't be getting to know the mall better....'  
"Ok Raye, I guess I'm ready, but we have to hit the check-out first, I just  
couldn't leave these jeans alone!" Mina smiled.  
  
"Oh come on Lita! Can we please go to one more store!?" Lita shook her  
head, and practically dragged Serena to the center of the shopping center.  
"Where's Raye and Mina, they were supposed to be here, half an hour ago.  
And so were we, if SOMEONE wouldn't have taken so long on deciding which  
hat looked best on her!" It was no use talking to no one, because Serena  
was already buying her 3rd salted pretzel of the day 20 feet away.  
*Sweatdrop* "Why do I even bother....."  
"Lita, hey Lita!!" Mina waved shopping bags at her.  
"Hey guys, how was shopping?" Lita turned her back on Serena stuffing her  
face.  
"Oh it was great, I bought .......and there were these cute little purses........  
But then I saw some lipstick in a........" Mina didn't seem to notice they had  
stopped listening minutes ago.  
"You had to get her started," Raye shook her head.  
Serena, who had finished, stood up next to them and said that they should  
get going or Amy might beat them back to the hotel. "I don't know about  
you guys, but I'm not in the mood for another one of her responsibility  
talks." All four of them laughed and walked out of the huge glass doors.  
It's a lot shorter than the other chapters, I know, but I thought it was  
about time I updated on this old thing! Please, if you read this, review  
it! 


	6. More To the Plan

Hey, I know I haven't updated in ages, but I decided to take a break from my blossoming Troy story, and get back to this one.  If you'd like, check it out 'When the Tables Turn'  it has five chapters as well.  I also just published a new SM story that is purely for laughs.  I got the idea and couldn't help but write it.  Not one of my best stories IMO, but check it out, 'Scouts' Honor'  Alright, enough self-publicity, on with this story! 

Actually, I just realized that I never explained the room arrangements!  Ok, Mina, Ami, and Artemis are all in room 213 and are closest to the stairs.  Right across the hall from them, is Lita and Raye in room 216, then Serena, Rini, and Luna are in room 217.  Ok, _now _on with the story.

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Chapter 6- More To the Plan

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         The girls hopped a bus in a hurry, and wasted no time getting up to Mina and Ami's room.  Mina handed her shopping bags to Lita and Raye, who hadn't bought anything on their outing and whipped the card key out of her pocket.  They stood with bated breath as she opened the door.  Ami wasn't there.  A sigh of relief echoed through the four of them as they walked in.  Everyone set down their bags and flopped down on one of the two beds in the room.  The clock read 3:17, and everyone was supposed to meet back at this room at 3.  "I can't believe Ami's late."  Serena said what everyone was thinking.

         "Well so were we," Mina answered.

         "Yes, but this is _Ami _we're talking about."

         "I'll bet you that Rini's the one causing the hold-up," Serena joked.  Just then, they all snapped their heads towards the door where footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs to the second floor. 

         "…knowing them, they won't be back yet either." Came Rini's voice.  The door opened slightly and a pink-haired girl stood in the doorway.  "Oh, I spoke too soon!"  She laughed.

         "Hey kid," Serena said, not even bothering to get up.

         "You all look like you just ran a marathon," Ami said as she set her purse on the dresser.  She took out a candy bar from the side pocket and handed it to Rini.  "Sorry we're late, the line for the snack stand was longer than we thought."

         "Wait a minute, where did you guys go?!"  Raye lifted an eyebrow.

         Ami blushed slightly, "Well, we…  We went to the zoo."

         "The zoo!?"  They all asked incredulously.

         "And here we were all worked up that we were shopping instead of finding our way around!  That's why we're so tired."  Lita answered the questioning look on Ami's face.  Artemis and Luna walked in side-by-side shortly after this comment.  Apparently, Artemis had said something terribly funny.  There was an awkward silence.

         "Sorry we're late!"  Both of them said at the same time.  Everyone laughed. 

         "Apparently everyone was late, so I think we can all say that it's forgiven,"  Mina replied.

         "Yes, but out of all of us, we were the least late," Serena added.  Ami blushed again.

         "Woah!"  Rini cried, just noticing the mound of shopping bags on the floor.  "Show me what you got."  This could be more directed toward Mina than anyone else, but she willingly showed off her many new outfits and accessories as well as trying some of them on for everyone.  After going through a good 5 clothing changes, everyone else joined in and it was a full on fashion show.  Rini, Artemis, Luna and Ami watched on the floor as everyone else modeled different combinations of shirts, pants, skirts, and such.  The end eventually came when it seemed like everyone had basically tried on every combo that could be made, including some that probably couldn't.  

         "Ok, now that that's over we should-"  Mina reached for the TV remote.

         "Get down to business," Ami grabbed the remote before she could reach it.  "Don't forget why we're here in the first place."  She said with a hint of scolding in her voice. 

         Luna nodded.  "It should be our number one priority to find the reincarnations.  If we have time afterwards,"  Serena looked up hopefully, "which isn't very likely, then we can do the things that we _want_ to do."  Everyone looked around at each other.  They knew she was right.  It _wasn't _very likely that they could find five gifted people in this big city and have time to do something-anything else.  "Then of course, we'll either have to train the new girls, or convince their parents to let them follow us back to Japan."

         "Neither of them sound like a very easy task," Ami added.

         "Exactly my point.  Now, we're going to have to split up to do this, or we'll never get it done.  So you're going to have to be trusted with the job of going around the city yourself to find your own reincarnation.  Each one of you has one, and since they are your reincarnation, they will share many of your best qualities and personality traits.  So the first place you should look is in a place that you would normally spend your time when you're just relaxing.  For example, Ami's might be at a library or museum.  I think it's safe to say that Mina's would be shopping, and Raye's might be at a local church."

         "Wouldn't mine be at a temple or a shrine?"  Raye pondered.

         "That is the difficult part.  America is different from Japan, and people with the same interests might be found in different places.  In your case, your reincarnation would most likely be at a church because you are very religious.  America most likely won't have the kind of church that you are thinking of, unfortunately." Artemis finally chimed in.  All the girls nodded in understanding.  This was going to be even harder than they once had thought.

         "Hey Luna, you said that Rini can count as my reincarnation, right?"  Serena asked.  Luna nodded.  "Then what exactly am I supposed to do while everyone else is out searching for theirs?"

         "You'll go with one of them.  Who that will be is your choice, but you should help out nonetheless."  Luna explained.  "Artemis, Rini and I will stay here with Serena's communicator.  If you think you've found the one, call us on the communicator and show us their face on the screen.  We'll check each person with our scepters.  But you should all understand that you shouldn't call us every time you see a girl that looks like you."  Luna fore-warned. 

         "Well, I guess this could be kind of fun.  In a way."  Raye said hopefully.

         "Can we all agree that we will leave tomorrow morning at-say 9:00 and we can meet back here around 4:00." Ami proposed.

         "Make it 4:30.  We shouldn't try to expect anyone to be here _on time._"  Mina poked fun at Ami.

         "We could meet in the middle at central park at noon for lunch!"  Serena said.  They all laughed at Serena's 24-7 food thoughts.

         "Speaking of food.  It's almost 5:30; let's hit the town for some restaurants."  Lita said.

         "Best way to go sight-seeing when you're short on time.  We could check out Chinatown for some Asian food.  They might have Japanese, you never know."  Serena added.  They all gave her a strange look.

         "Hello?!  We didn't come here to eat Japanese food!  If we're in America, we should eat _American _food," Mina explained.

         "Well, whatever we do, let's do it quick.  I'm getting hungry!"  Rini said.  Everyone nodded in agreement and stood up.  They walked out the door and down the stairs. 

         "So Serena, have you decided who you're going to go along with tomorrow?"  Raye asked her. 

         "I think I'll go with Mina," Everyone gave her a strange look again.  She claimed it had nothing to do with the fact that Mina would most likely be going shopping to try and find her reincarnation, but everyone else had their own ideas…

         They walked to the corner and were waiting to cross the street when they noticed a bus just pull out of the bus stop they were going to across the street.  "Uhmm, who's up for a cab?"

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Hey, I hope you liked it.  I decided to make it nice and long for you since you had to wait so long for it and all.  Please review so I'll know if you liked it or not!


	7. Procrastination

Alrighty then, here we are again with yet another chapter. Chapter 7 to be exact. I like it when stories are long and the chapters are long, so I'll expect the same from myself. I'll try to make the chapters longer kinda like the last one. So anyways, here is chapter 7:……Procrastination……

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The girls all went out to an outdoors restaurant. (It was the only place they figured would allow cats at or near the table.) After putting a whole new meaning to the all you can eat menu, they all sat and talked with each other before the waiter arrived…

"Yeah, so, I was thinking that I would check out a martial arts place, if there are any around here. Did you decide where you're going?" Lita chatted with Ami.

"Well, I was thinking the library. Since school is out here in America too for now, then I think that's my best bet. Otherwise I'd go to a school."

"So Serena, do you think we should go to the mall first, or try a department store? I was thinkin' mall, but if you think-"

"No, no, the mall is good. The mall is fine. That's what I was thinking too." Serena quickly cut off Mina's question. They both laughed and continued on with their conversation.

"Are you excited about tomorrow Rini?" Raye asked.

"Well, I was hoping that I would get to go along with you guys, but I guess it's not so bad. If you all finish in time, we can still have a nice vacation." She answered. Their conversations eventually dissolved when the waiter came with the bill. Everyone chipped in on the price, which wasn't as bad as they had thought it would be with all of the things Serena had. No, seriously, she put a whole new meaning to 'the all you can eat buffet'…

5 teenagers, one young girl, and two cats left the shade of the deck of the restaurant and walked onto the busy sidewalk. They all decided to split up again as they had done earlier that morning. Sightseeing was all they really could do for now. It was too late for them to do anything else today regarding the task that was at hand. Raye and Lita went together to the park for a walk. Ami and Rini went to an art museum to look at a new exhibit of animal paintings. Luna and Artemis decided to just go back to the hotel and relax for the rest of the night. Typical cats… Serena and Mina headed back to the mall again of course.

………………………………………………

"So, what do you think of this whole situation?"

"What situation?"

"The whole reincarnation thing? Do you think this will work? I mean, what happens if we _don't _find them?" Raye asked skeptically.

"You're worrying too much! We always do things last minute, and for some reason it usually works for us. This time, we're actually planning things out, so there's no doubt in my mind that we can do this," Lita reassured her. It was starting to get dark already, but the girls had never said when they were going to head back to the hotel. _They_ weren't worried very much at least. They were sharing a room. So they didn't have to worry about disturbing the other if they came back at different times. There were people all over the park tonight. The girls walked around looking at the different street performers. They heard a lot of noise coming from the center of a crowd. The girls jogged over to see what was happening, and saw a band playing. They looked at each other and smiled. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Well I'm thinking karaoke, so hopefully that's what you were thinking." Raye replied with a laugh. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

………………………………………………

"What is that one supposed to be?"

"Well, let's check the guide. Oh, yes, this one is called 'Swimmers Delight' because it has ducks in the corner."

"Oh yeah, I see them now!" Rini pointed to the top left corner where two painted ducks were leaving small wakes behind them in a pond. "Ami? Do you think when we get back that I could borrow one of your books on painting?"

"Taken a liking to art?" Ami smiled.

"Well, I want a canvas to paint on, but I'm supposed to buy it with my own money. But, I like looking at paintings just as much as I like to paint though." Rini said.

"You know, there are places where you can buy your own blank pots and then decorate them with paint any way you want." Ami thought out loud.

"Oh, could we go to one, Ami? Please?"

"I suppose," she gave in.

……………………………………………...

"Hey Serena? Do you think we could come to America again? This is an awesome place to visit. Serena? SERENA?!" Mina tried to bring her back to earth as she stared at all the lights.

"How should I know?" Mina was slightly shocked that she had actually heard what she had just said. "I mean, of course I would love to come here again, but there are lots of other places I'd like to visit, too." Serena pointed out. They both sighed.

"So many malls, so little time," Mina said solemnly. Serena put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, if you become famous someday, people will practically hand you new clothes." They both laughed. "What do you say we go see a play or something instead? That'll cheer you up." Serena suggested.

"You know me too well," Mina laughed.

"I could see it now," Serena stared off into space at an imaginary sign. "Your name in those lights. 'Mina Aino: Greatest Broadway Star of This Century!'" Serena said as they looked over the posters for different shows.

………………………………………………

"**_Meguru Meguru toki no naka de._**

******_bokutachi wa ikite nanika o shiru_******

**__**

**_ toki ni warai sukoshi naite_**

**_ kyou mo mata aruki tsuzukete iku_**_"_

Raye and Lita sang happily together as they walked out of the karaoke café. "That was _so _much fun!" Lita exuded. "Normally, I'd be way too chicken to go in front of people like that, but I just felt right at home there, for some reason. I mean, we probably won't see these people ever again, you know?"

"Yeah, I wasn't really that nervous… Oh my god, did you see that one guy who stared right at us when he sang that one song… umm…Well, I don't remember what it was, but did you see that?!" Raye gushed, almost completely lost for words.

Lita nodded and laughed. "Too bad we didn't get his number. Just because we're taken in Japan, doesn't mean we have to be here."

They both hurried back to the hotel with no idea what time it was.

……………………………………………..

"Thanks so much for taking me with you today, Ami." Rini said.

"It was no problem. And thank you for giving me the pot you made." Ami smiled.

"It was the least I could do since you paid for the whole thing!"

"Well, I suppose we should get back, it's getting late." Ami looked up to the sky. "I think we could walk there from here." The two wove between strangers down the sidewalk towards their hotel.

……………………………………………..

Serena and Mina were sitting on a bench discussing the musical they had just seen. They hadn't gotten very good seats since they had bought them so late, but the show was great, so it didn't matter to them… "I liked the big dance number right before the intermission. The moves that the partners did were wild!" Mina said.

"I like the intermission, good food." Serena laughed. Mina gave her a can't-you-ever-be-serious kind of look. "I liked that dancing part too." She recovered quickly. She looked at her watch that she had just bought that day and groaned.

"What?" Mina asked.

"We should probably get back before Ami has a fit." Serena said in a grumpy tone of voice. They both let out an annoyed sigh and stood.

After a few seconds, Mina replied hopefully, "Maybe she's late too, like last time."

…………………………………………….

The girls all met in the lobby. They mumbled their good nights and separated to their rooms. They had all done interesting things that were worth sharing, but they were too tired by that time to care. So ends their day of interesting procrastination………

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Well, I know it took a little while, but here it is, and it's actually kinda long! Me-long chapters, who would have thought?! Oh, well I suppose I have to tell you all that the small ending verse of that Japanese song you heard came from the ending theme for Inuyasha. It's my favorite so far: 'Every Heart' by BoA. I just had to put it in, but I'm not sure if it's exactly right. I've seen it written in different ways, so I just picked one…I knew I'd need some Japanese eventually, since the girls are really from Japan…. This verse roughly translates to :

_"Goes & Goes the time goes on we are not alone_

_We live on together and we will find some precious things_

_Sometime we will smile sometime we will cry somehow_

_Don't forget believing yourself - Tomorrow's never die"_

Alright, well, that's all for now. **Please review! You know you want to!**


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